copyright information

At Outcast Films, we believe honesty is the best policy. We will be honest with you in explaining how and when our films can be used and in return, we trust that you will be honest with us when purchasing our titles.

When you visit our title pages, in some cases, you will see two price points: one for Institutions and one for Home Use. Institutional pricing includes Public Performance Rights while Home Use pricing does not.

If you are an activist organization, community group, church, or other institution or organization, you must purchase the Public Performance Rights. If you have a limited budget, please send an inquiry to: info@outcast-films.com. The most important thing to us is that you have the film to use as an educational tool. Therefore, we will work with you as closely as possible. The Public Performance Rights any one organization purchases is for your institution only.

We have included information below that we hope will answer all of your questions relating to the use of videos and dvds in your classroom, at your church or community group or elsewhere. If you have any other questions, please feel free to send us an email to info@outcast-films.com or visit the
American Library Association website where we gratefully acknowledge retrieving this very useful information.

1. Loan/Rental of Videotapes
Libraries may loan/rent videos to patrons for their personal use. A library or school that resells, rents, or lends a copy of a copyrighted videotape, which it owns, is not infringing on the copyright owner's rights. Some guidelines to follow when loaning/renting a video to a patron:

Libraries should not obscure (i.e., cover or deface) the copyright notice as it appears on the producer's label.

Libraries should not knowingly loan a video to groups for use in public performances. If a patron inquires about a planned performance of a videotape, he or she should be informed that only private uses of it are lawful.

Libraries can charge a nominal fee for use of videos. According
to Bruwelheide, "The fact that a fee is charged is irrelevant; the
right to distribute a copy includes the right to rent it -- for
a fee or deposit or otherwise."

2. Classroom Use of Videotapes
Teachers may purchase copyrighted films at the Home Video price
to use in their classrooms only when all of the following conditions
are met:

The performance must be by instructors or by pupils.

The performance is in connection with face-to-face teaching activities.

The entire audience is involved in the teaching activity.

The entire audience is in the same room or same general area.

The teaching activities are conducted by a non-profit education
institution.

The performance takes place in a classroom or similar place devoted
to instruction.

The person responsible for the performance has no reason to believe
that the videotape was unlawfully made.

3. Library Use of Videotapes
Most public performances of a videotape in a public room (including
library meeting rooms), whether or not a fee is charged, would be
an infringement. Such performances require a performance license
from the copyright owner. The only exception would be educational
programs meeting all seven requirements listed above.

Libraries which allow groups to use or rent their public meeting
rooms should, as part of their agreement, require the group to warrant
that it will secure all necessary performance licenses and indemnify
the library for any failure on their part to do so.

Libraries that permit patrons to watch videotapes in private viewing
rooms must strictly limit the viewing to one individual or a very
small group and should not levy charges or fees.

Previewing a videotape before borrowing it could be considered
by some to be an infringement if done in public areas of a library.
Therefore previewing should be done in a private space. Notices
may be posted on video recorders or players used in the library
to educate and warn patrons about the existence of the copyright
laws. Such a notice might read:

MANY VIDEOTAPED MATERIALS ARE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT. 17 U.S.C.
SEC. 101. UNAUTHORIZED COPYING MAY BE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

4. Motion Picture Licensing Corporation (MPLC) and Movie Licensing
USA
Unless a library purchases a video that comes with public performance
rights, libraries cannot show them to groups for in-house viewing
or programs. According to Scholtz: "Generally speaking, 'home use
only' video cassettes (the kind you find in video rental stores)
do not carry public performance rights... Group use for these videos
is generally found to be strictly illegal unless public performance
permission is obtained in writing from the copyright holder or via
various 'umbrella' licensing companies."

Once the umbrella licensing fee has been paid, unlimited public
showings are permitted within the library building. (Copyright, American Library Association, 2005)

All of the videotapes and DVDs distributed by Outcast Films are
protected by United States copyright law. Duplication, reproduction,
alteration, television broadcast, cablecast, loaning for a fee,
leasing, sublicensing to others or use for commercial purposes is
strictly prohibited without written permission from Outcast Films.